Google's Agent-to-Agent protocol lets AI agents discover each other, exchange capabilities, and work together on complex commerce tasks. It's the orchestration layer of the agentic commerce stack.
The Agent-to-Agent (A2A) protocol is an open standard from Google that defines how AI agents discover, communicate with, and delegate tasks to other agents. Unlike ACP (which handles transactions) or MCP (which handles data), A2A operates at the orchestration layer — it's the protocol that lets agents work as a team.
Agents publish 'Agent Cards' describing their capabilities. Other agents discover them via a standardized registry, similar to how APIs use OpenAPI specs.
Before collaborating, agents negotiate what they can do. A shopping agent might request a payment agent that supports Stripe, and A2A finds the right match.
Complex tasks are broken into subtasks and delegated to specialist agents. A product search agent finds options, then delegates checkout to a commerce agent.
Here's how a typical A2A-powered shopping experience works across multiple specialized agents.
User asks: 'Find me running shoes under $150 with good reviews'
Primary agent uses A2A to find product search, review, and pricing agents
Agents coordinate — search agent finds products, review agent scores them, pricing agent checks deals
Winner selected. Commerce agent handles ACP checkout. User confirms with one tap.
Three protocols, three layers. Here's how they fit together in the agentic commerce stack.
| Feature | A2A | ACP | MCP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creator | OpenAI + Stripe | Anthropic | |
| Layer | Agent orchestration | Commerce transactions | Data & tools |
| Agent discovery | |||
| Task delegation | |||
| Product search | Via agents | ||
| Checkout & payment | Via agents | ||
| Data access | Via agents | ||
| Open standard | Partial |
Asva AI positions your brand for the multi-agent commerce future. We ensure your products, reviews, and brand signals are optimized for discovery by A2A-coordinated AI agents.
Asva integrates across the full protocol stack — MCP for data access, ACP for transactions, A2A for agent orchestration, and UCP for Google's commerce layer.
See It in ActionAsva AI helps brands get discovered, compared, and purchased through AI agents. Be visible where the next generation of shopping happens.
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